Pre-E3 2006: Hot PXL Hands-On

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First impressions of the funky urban treat.

By Juan Castro

It's easily one of the strangest games to ever hit the PSP. Hot PXL, from developer zSlide, takes a stab at urban street culture by offering an eclectic mix of "micro-games." And by micro-games, you should understand super-short, simplified mini-games. It's a pretty safe bet most articles on Hot PXL will reference Nintendo's own Wario Ware, since both titles revolve around super-short, oddball challenges.

Most games in Hot PXL only use the "X" button, along with the d-pad or thumbstick. Not only that, each one only lasts five or so seconds. You get a limited number of "lives" for each one, with each wrong answer resulting in the shooting of Djon, the game's creator and protagonist. It's funny watching him get blasted, plus there's a spray of pixilated blood, making it feel twisted yet just as funky as the rest of the game.

The whole package splits into a number of different modes. The first, Story, chronicles a day in the life of a typical urbanite. You'll live through a series of normally mundane events, such as walking across street and opening the door to your apartment. You'll also visit clubs, scratch records and drive around town. It's these "everyday" activities that turn into the aforementioned micro-games. Hot PXL includes some 200 of them, each based on a different aspect of the urban lifestyle.

One of the games, for example, has you trying to key in a combination so you can get back into your apartment. You use the analog stick to move your input finger and interact with the number pad, while you need to scan the nearby environment for the number. It's actually written on your other hand, which is probably where most people write down numbers anyway. Another game has you scratching at a local club. Depending on your performance, the crowd will either go nuts or boo you off the stage. In yet another game, which plays a lot like a game of Vegas slots, you need to pull a lever and get the right combination of cars.

The above Story mode runs 10 chapters long. But that's not all there is to do. You can also jump into Theater mode and play whichever mini-game you want, in any order, without having to go through the game's story. It's a good way to experience Hot PXL at your own pace. Or if you just want to play a quick game or two.

And since it's Atari, you can expect a slew of classic Atari titles such as Asteroids and Defender. Not only that, Hot PXL includes a built in media player so you can download and listen to podcasts from the game's creator, Djon. Plus, you can also download new micro-games. Developers were unclear as to how many will be made available for download, but it's a safe bet the number won't disappoint. Plus, it's just a cool feature any way you look at it.